Love ain't easy
by xBrainsx
Summary: First chapter, set during TDK period, following the life of Lorana Thomas, Bruce Wayne's new assisstant, what secrets will she discover and what characters are going to enter her life ? Please review with any ideas you have. Enjoy
1. Meetings and introductions

"Come on love," the voice drawled "don't be shy, just hand it over and I'll be gone."

The young woman clung to her bag for dear life and shook her head, this bag had been a present from her grandfather after he had come back from Australia, there was no way she was giving it to some thief.

"One last chance to do as I say before-" the voice was cut off mid-sentence by a blow to the back of his head. His unconscious form fell to the floor, as a tall man stepped out of the shadows and looked at the woman he had just rescued.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a gruff voice. The woman just stared at him, she was looking at some man who wore a tight, black rubber suite with features that resembled a bat. "I said are you ok?" he repeated.

"S...s...sorry," the woman stammered. "I'm fine now, thank you for saving me."

"Good," and without another word the man was gone. The woman looked about her, gathering herself together she walked out of Gotham City's train station into it's bustling streets. She looked about her and saw a taxi idling by the kerb and headed towards it. The taxi driver saw her headed his way and he walked towards her.

"How can I help love?" he asked kindly, the woman froze her heart pace increasing. The taxi driver walked towards her. "Hey, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine thank you," the woman said regaining her composure.

"Where to then?"

"Wayne manor please." The taxi driver stopped in his tracks. "Is there a problem?" the woman asked.

"Not at all love, in you get then," the taxi driver said opening the door for her to get in. Once she was in he closed the door and they were off.

"How far is Wayne manor from here?" the woman asked.

"It's a mile or so on the outskirts of the city, Mr Wayne likes to keep himself away from the hustle and bustle of the city, he does often host parties though," the taxi driver said not looking back.

"I see," the woman replied curtly. The next few minutes passed in silence.

"So why are you going to Wayne manor?" the taxi driver asked interrupting the silence.

The woman looked at him debating what to say "I'm applying for a job there." The rest of the journey passed in relative peace and quiet. The woman looked out of the window watching the city fly by.

"If you look straight ahead, you will see Wayne manor," the taxi driver pointed in front of him. The woman leaned forward to get a better view.

"Wow," she breathed. "It's beautiful."

"Well here we are love, that'll be $25," the taxi driver said, as the woman handed him the money. He opened the door for her and then went to the boot and took out her luggage.

"Thank you very much," the woman said smiling as the taxi driver got into his cab and pulled away from Wayne manor. She picked up her luggage and walked up the steps to the large front doors. She knocked hesitantly. After a few minutes the door was opened by a suited gentleman.

"Can I help you miss?" he asked in a strong British accent.

"Hello, I'm Lorana Thomas, and I'm here to see Mr Wayne," Lorana answered.

"Very good Miss Thomas, if you'd like to follow me," the man indicated for her to come inside. "I'm Alfred by the way." Lorana nodded as she followed Alfred into a spacious reception area.

"Master Wayne will be with you shortly Miss Thomas," Alfred said disappearing up the grand staircase. Lorana sat down on a leather sofa and looked around her at Mr Wayne's manor. The reception area in itself was huge, Lorana could imagine that rest of the rooms were of a similar size. She was interrupted by a voice entering her head.

"Miss Thomas I presume?" said a gentle voice. "I'm Bruce Wayne." Lorana stood up and took Bruce's hand in a firm handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Wayne," Lorana began, "as you know-"

"Yes I know why you're here Miss Thomas, by the way please call me Bruce. As I was saying I know why you're here and that's why I asked you to come to Wayne manor rather than Wayne Enterprises. If you're going to me my assistant I want it to be a less formal relationship as a lot of what I'll ask of you is not to be known by the others at Wayne Enterprises," Bruce said lightly.

"As you wish Bruce," Lorana said lightly wondering what exactly she was getting herself into.


	2. Embarrassing and shocking goings on

"Right," said Bruce standing up. "Would you like a tour of the manor ?

"Why would I need a tour of the manor?" Lorana asked a confused look played across her face.

Bruce smiled. "_What a gorgeous smile,_" Lorana thought "_on second thoughts he is gorgeous."_

"Like I said, our relationship's gonna be a lot more personal than most, so should I need you at any time then you'll be here at Wayne manor or at Wayne Enterprises," Bruce explained. "So you'll need a tour so you can pick a room." He smiled again leaving Lorana melting inside.

"_Snap out of it!" _she scolded herself. This wasn't the time to be having feelings for anyone, let alone her new boss. Bruce had already made his way to the stairs, so Lorana had to run catch him up. They walked up the stairs in silence.

"So how many rooms does this place hold?" Lorana asked when they got to the top.

They walked along the main corridor, "Well in total we have about 20 or so rooms, 12 of them being bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 large studies and 2 grand reception rooms," Bruce said stopping at a highly polished oak door. He placed his hand on the door knob and looked at Lorana a childish look of excitement on his face. "Ready to see your room?"

Lorana just nodded not sure really what to expect. Bruce opened the door and waved his arm melodramatically into the room. Lorana stepped inside.

"Wow, Bruce this rooms amazing," Lorana breathed. The room consisted of a king size double bed, en suite and wall in wardrobe. This one room was the size of her apartment back home in New York.

"Do you like it?" Bruce asked leaning against the door frame. Lorana looked at him smiling.

"I more than like it, I love it," she squealed, running over to Bruce and hugging him. Bruce stumbled backwards laughing. Lorana pulled herself off him, turning bright red. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Bruce."

Bruce laughed it off "Don't worry about it, I've just not had a woman hug me in a long time." Lorana suddenly felt light headed, she began to lose her balance. Bruce nimbly stepped forward and grabbed her before she fell to the floor. He picked her up easily and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and sat by her side as her eyes rolled in their sockets. "Alfred!" he shouted. It took a few minutes for the butler to arrive.

"Yes Master....Good God what's happened to Miss Thomas?" he blurted out, rushing to her side, checking the pulse in her wrist. He nodded knowingly, "her pulse is a little rapid sir, role her onto her side and she'll come round much quicker." Together they rolled Lorana over onto here side and settled down to wait until she came round. After a few minutes Lorana's eyelids began to flutter and she woke up. She moved to sit up, but a firm hand on her shoulder pushed her onto the bed again.

"Not so fast Miss Thomas," Alfred's voice. "You've had a bit of an experience so just lie down and give yourself a few minutes." Lorana lowered herself back onto the bed her hands running across her face.

"I can't believe this happened, Bruce must think me weak and unable to cope," she cried. Alfred shook his head "not at all Miss, Master Bruce would never think anything like that."

"Where is Bruce? He was with me before," Lorana asked suddenly.

Alfred's face paled a bit "Ah, Master Bruce got called to Wayne Enterprises, but don't worry you won't miss anything important." Alfred smiled at her reassuringly. "How about you come with me Miss Thomas, and I'll fix you a spot of lunch?" Lorana smiled.

"Thanks Alfred, that'd be lovely," Lorana said getting up off the bed with Alfred's help. They walked along the corridor and back down the main staircase and through a different hallway off the main entrance. The kitchen itself was in a separate building from Wayne manor but it was still attached to the main building. It was as large like many of the rooms in Wayne Manor and contained all the mod cons.

"Well Miss Thomas.."  
"Alfred if I'm gonna be here on a permanent basis please call me Lorana," Lorana interrupted. Alfred smiled and nodded.

"What can I get you then?"

"Oh a simple sandwich will do me just fine," Lorana said looking about at the kitchen. Alfred nodded and went to the different places to get the food. As he passed a work surface he touched it lightly and a TV screen popped up.

"_Wow,_" Lorana thought. "_I need to get myself one of those." _Alfred flicked through the channels, until he stopped on the main news channel for Gotham. He walked to another work surface and began making Lorana's sandwich. Lorana took a seat at the table in the middle of the room and watched the news with mild interest. Most of the reports were internal affairs and had no place in Lorana's interests. So she focused her attention on Alfred and what he was doing. He turned to face her and placed a plate with her sandwich in front of her.

"Thanks Alfred," Lorana smiled taking a bite.

"Breaking news just in," the reporter said holding his hand to his ear piece. "The Batman, is in central Gotham battling with a small known criminal gang, we go to Jeff Aiken who's live following the happenings, Jeff?"

"I'm here Dan," Jeff's voice came through, as the picture on the TV switched from the studio to central Gotham. "All we have at the moment is that this is a small gang and that the batman has been having run ins with them for some time... hang on... here's some live footage now." The camera swung to where the action was happening. It showed some small scrawny men, trying to land punches at the Batman and obviously it wasn't happening. Back in Wayne manor, things had come to a standstill. Both Alfred and Lorana had froze, both for different reasons.


	3. Different worlds

Both Alfred and Lorana remained frozen watching the events unfolding out on the TV screen. Eventually Lorana spoke breaking the silence.

"Oh my God, I know that man, the Batman." Alfred turned to look at her.

"You know M..the Batman?" he asked a shocked note creeping into his voice.

Lorana nodded not taking her eyes off the TV. "Yes, he saved me from being mugged when I got into Gotham earlier." Alfred looked at her, but said nothing.

"Well there you have it folks," Jeff's voice came from the TV. "The Batman has once again removed a gang from Gotham's streets." The camera focused in on the Batman as he fired a cable into a building and pulled himself onto the rooftop and disappeared. Alfred turned off the TV and pushed it back into the work surface. A nasty silence fell upon the kitchen, Lorana went back to eating her sandwich and Alfred started tidying away everything.

"If you want Miss Lorana, you can go into the living room and watch some TV," Alfred said suddenly breaking the silence. Lorana looked up, from her empty plate, her mind was all over the place.

"Actually, Alfred I was wondering if Bruce had any work for me to start, I'm not really much of a TV fan?" Lorana said.

"I'm afraid he doesn't, he wanted to start everything with you personally. Would you like to go to the library instead?" Alfred suggested looking at his watch. Lorana noticed this and wondered why Alfred would be checking his watch... almost like he wanted rid of her.

"Oh yes, that'd be nice," she said and followed Alfred out of the kitchen. The library that he took her to was amazing, shelves lined the walls and spanned the whole height of the room. The books that filled those shelves ranged from really old looking leather bound books, to paper backs that were new and colourful.

"Now if you would excuse me Miss Lorana," Alfred said. "I have to err, pick up... Master Wayne." Without another word he slipped out the room. Lorana was too distracted by the books around her to really pay attention to Alfred's behaviour. She walked over to the shelves with the newer books on them and picked one out. Looking around her she found a comfy looking armchair, settled in and started reading, letting the words whisk her away to another world. What she didn't know was that another world was taking place underneath her feet.

Alfred got himself down to the Bat-cave and got all the things necessary for tending any injury Master Bruce might have when he got back from fighting crime. Alfred let out a sigh, he hated it when Master Bruce came home with injuries, he always worried that one day the injury would be too serious for him to handle. The sound of wheels screeching to a halt brought Alfred back to reality. Bruce stepped out of the car grunting slightly.

"Any serious injuries today Master Bruce?" Alfred asked helping him to remove the Bat suit.

"Just a few cracked ribs and bruising," Bruce winced as Alfred felt his abdomen and ribs."Is Lorana awake?"

"Yes she is, I made her some lunch and then we happened to catch your TV performance. And she happened to already know the Batman as she had been saved by him earlier this day," Alfred looked at him in the only way that made Bruce feel guilty.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you Al, it slipped my mind," he winced again as Alfred finished strapping up his chest. "So where is Lorana now?"

"In the library sir," Alfred said cleaning everything away. Bruce jumped off the bench and made his way up the steps out of the Bat-cave throwing on a light shirt. He decided to take the secret passage up to the library and surprise her.

Lorana was still curled up on the same chair engrossed in her book.

"Ah Harry Potter," Bruce said glancing over her shoulder. Lorana gave a small scream and dropped the book. Bruce chuckled lightly and picked it up. "Sorry." He was grinning again and Lorana couldn't help but smile.

"How the hell did you get in here?" she asked trying to look angry at him but failed.

"Ahh magic," Bruce said. Lorana looked at him sceptically. "Ok, you were so engrossed in your book that I managed to sneak in and surprise you."

"Oh by the way Bruce, seeing as you've given me the job as your PA I was wondering if it would be possible for me to return to New York to move the rest of my things out of my apartment down to here?" Lorana asked.

"Of course, how about we go now, in my jet?"

"Oh I couldn't ask that of you," Lorana said getting up out of her chair.

"No I insist," Bruce said taking her arm and leading her out of the library. "Alfred, we need a life to my jet, if you'd be so kind." Alfred nodded and they walked to Bruce's limo.


	4. Getting to know you

**Sorry that this took so long to get up I just had a lot on and it got put to one side lol, but here it is, it's the shortest chapter so far but I just felt that ending it where I did was right. Please read and review and if you have any ideas for where you want this story to go please tell me :)**

**Thanks and enjoy!**

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"How much further to your jet?" Lorana asked, looking around her all she could see were trees.

"Oh not far," Bruce said. "I own my own runway you see, and it happens to be out in the countryside, I prefer it to an airport, all that security is a problem for me." Alfred looked at Bruce through the rear view mirror and smiled before turning his attention back to the road. Lorana sighed and went back to looking out of the window. Bruce noticed her sigh and the look of sadness that crept onto her face. He was about to ask her if she was alright, but then thought better of it. He couldn't get himself involved, not yet. It was another 5 minutes or so before Alfred brought the limo to a stop. He got out of the car and opened the doors for Bruce and Lorana. As she stepped out of the limo, Lorana got her first look at Bruce Wayne's private jet. There was only one word she could think of to describe it: BIG. Bruce looked at Lorana and smiled.

"She's amazing isn't she?" he asked walking over to her.

"Umm I guess you could call it that," Lorana said nervously. Bruce looked at her and frowned, something was wrong, he could sense it.

"Shall we get on board then?" Lorana nodded and he placed an arm round her shoulders and steered her on board. Bruce took a seat and indicated for Lorana to sit next to him. She sat down in the luxurious leather chair trying to keep her breathing normal.

"Where's the pilot?" she asked realising that she hadn't actually seen anyone on the plane as she got on board.

"Oh Alfred will be flying," Bruce said calmly. Lorana's face snapped round fast, a look of horror plastered on her face.

Bruce looked at her and burst out laughing. "Don't look so horrified," he said once he had regained himself enough to speak, "Alfred is a fully qualified pilot and has flown me to me many countries, you're perfectly safe." Lorana took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing, until Bruce's voice interrupted.

"Lorana, what's wrong? You've looked uncomfortable since I mentioned that we'd be flying up to new York."

Lorana sighed, she looked at Bruce and was shocked to see the look of trust coming from him. "My family were killed in a plane crash, and so ever since I haven't flown. Today for example I came by train from New York to Gotham."

"I'm so sorry Lorana," Bruce said with genuine feeling in his voice. "I too know what it's like to lose someone."  
"You do?" Lorana said looking at him. "Who?"

"A very good friend, Rachel Dawes," Bruce sighed.

The sound of the engines starting up and the jet beginning to move stopped Lorana from saying anything back. She gripped the arms of her seat tightly, her knuckles turning white. Bruce noticed this and took her hand in his. The warmth of it made Lorana feel slightly more comfortable, she relaxed more and laid her head on Bruce's arm. Bruce at first felt slightly uncomfortable but once he thought about it he realised that it was fine.

Bruce's POV.

When Lorana rested her head against his arm, a flurry of emotions stirred in Bruce that he had only just buried. Could he face them being brought to the surface again?

"_Oh come on man!_" he thought to himself. "_Rachel's gone. You can't bring her back, let someone else in._" And so he decided to trust his thoughts and feelings, he let down the barrier that he had put up around himself since Rachel died. In many ways it felt like a weight was taken off his mind. He felt that as long as he never forgot Rachel and what she meant to him he could move on and let someone else into his life, but it was going to take time.


	5. Home

Lorana had fallen asleep, Bruce could see her chest rising and falling steadily. He looked at her, a warm feeling rising up him. He felt so strange, he'd known this woman for a day and he was experiencing feelings that he hadn't felt for some time. He sighed, love never did make sense to him, he was so used to having girls fall at his feet, that he never really felt anything for them. And now some woman was stirring up his feelings all over again.

"Would you like a drink Master Bruce?" Alfred asked. Bruce jumped slightly.

"Sure, give me a whisky will you, and for Lorana I'm guessing just a gin and tonic," Bruce said smiling. He touched Lorana gently on the shoulder. "Hey sleepy, wake up we've got drinks coming." Lorana opened her eyes just as Alfred returned with the drinks.

"I hope you don't mind gin and tonic," Bruce said handing her her drink.

"It's not my favourite," Lorana said smiling at Bruce, "but I do drink it now and again."

"Ahh I must be losing my touch," Bruce said laughing "because normally I can guess a persons drink. So what is your favourite drink?"

"You're going to have to find that out Bruce," Lorana said mischievously sipping at her gin.

Lorana's POV

"_I can't believe I just said that," _Lorana thought to herself blushing. She looked out of the window and saw the familiar New York skyline coming up fast.

"We're nearly there," she said excitedly. Bruce smiled at her he liked seeing her happy, it made him feel good. 30 minutes later and they had landed. Lorana felt so glad to be off the plane. Alfred stepped off the plane and escorted Bruce and Lorana to the car that was waiting for them.

"Where to Master Bruce?" Alfred asked. Bruce looked at his watch.

"I think Al we're in need of some food before we collect Lorana's belongings."  
"Very good sir," Alfred said with a knowing nod. Lorana looked at him quizzically, but Bruce just smiled at her and too her hand in his giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"_Ok Bruce_," Lorana thought "_I'm willing to go along with your little game....for now."_ Now Alfred knew New York like the back of his hand, he knew the best and worst places to eat. He decided to take them to Luigi's it was a place he often gone to while he had lived in New York. As soon as they left the airstrip they hit the lovely traffic of New York.

"Ahh, Master Bruce we might have a problem reaching Luigi's on time, we have reached our first taste NYC," Alfred said. Bruce leaned forward and saw the long tail of traffic they were entering. He let out a sigh. Lorana looked at him and smiled.

"Don't worry about it Bruce, you can come to my apartment and I'll cook us something."  
"Lorana, I couldn't ask you to do that," Bruce began.

"Oh it's no trouble," Lorana said, she leant forward to tell Alfred the address to her apartment. It took them about an hour to snake their way through the traffic and eventually arrive at Lorana's apartment. She and Bruce stepped out of the car as Alfred walked round to the boot and took out Bruce's suitcase.

"If you'd all like to follow me then," Lorana said leading the way into the apartment block. Bruce lost count of the number of stairs they'd gone up after just a few minutes. They finally reached the landing on which Lorana's apartment was situated. Lorana fished out her keys from her bag and opened the door. She ushered them both inside. Bruce walked in and took in his surroundings. The apartment was very small, but Lorana had worked well with the space that was available to her and had created a very nice looking apartment for herself.

"Let me show you around," Lorana said. She first showed them the living room and kitchen seeing as they were both in the same room, merely separated by a table. They moved onto the one bedroom, with a double bed and a chest of draws squeezed inside. Last but not least was the bathroom, this was the smallest room in the apartment, but once again Lorana had worked hard and made it a lovely room as bathrooms went of course. They all went back to the living room and took a seat on the sofa.

"Can I get anyone a drink?" Lorana said standing up.

"Not for me thank you Miss Lorana," Alfred said standing up also, "I must be taking the car back." He let himself out, but not before he looked at both Bruce and Lorana and smiled knowingly.

"Bruce?" Lorana said looking at him.

"Oh give me a whisky please." Lorana padded to the kitchen area, while Bruce picked up the TV remote. "Do you mind?"

"Go ahead," Lorana said making the drinks. Bruce flicked on the TV and Lorana handed him his drink. "Now what would sir like for food?" Lorana giggled slightly. Bruce stroked his chin.

"I do have a soft spot for pasta...."  
"Say no more," Lorana said wheeling back into the kitchen. Bruce began channel hopping.

"So why did you decide to leave New York and get a job in Gotham?" he said downing his whiskey in one gulp. Lorana stopped what she was doing for a few minutes before she went back to cooking the pasta.

"It's a long story, so much has happened to me, I just don't know....."

"Hey, it's ok," Bruce said rushing to her and taking her into his arms. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." Lorana took a step back from Bruce, looked at him and then returned to cooking the food. 15 minutes later and Lorana called Bruce up to the table. She placed a bowl of spaghetti in front of Bruce.

"Wine?" she asked offering him the bottle. Bruce nodded and held out his glass. Lorana was about to pour when the door of her apartment was thrown wide open. Stood on the threshold was a man with a shot gun balanced on his hip.

"Welcome home Lorana, I've missed you," he said, his voice thick with an Irish accent.


	6. An unwanted guest

**Well here's the next chapter, ironicly I'm listening to a track from The Dark Knight Soundtrack as I put this up. **

**My apologies for it taking so long, a mixutre of writers block and A-level exams.**

**Hope you enjoy and please review with suggestions and criticism and where you want this story to go :)**

**Thanks.  
**

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Bruce stood up, "Who are you?"

"I think, seeing as I'm the one with the gun, I should be asking the questions, don't you?" the man with the shotgun said. Bruce sat back down grudgingly.

"What are you doing here?" Lorana said, her voice betraying the brave face she was putting on.

"I heard you were back in town and so I thought I'd come and see my misses," shotgun man said. Bruce didn't like this situation one bit, Lorana was in danger and there was nothing he could do.

"I'm not your misses Daniel," Lorana whispered.

"Oh but you are," Daniel breathed, getting closer to Lorana. Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "this bothering you?" Daniel laughed manically looking at Bruce. Bruce gritted his teeth and sat there biding his time. Daniel nodded and turned his attentions to Lorana.

"You hurt me deep when you ran away Lorana," Daniel drawled. "And you know what I do when I get hurt." Lorana was visibly shaking and the tears were spilling down her cheeks.

Bruce cleared his throat "Err do you mind if I pop to the loo?" Daniel was too preoccupied with Lorana to pay attention and he just waved the shot gun in a "yes" gesture. Bruce slipped out of his chair and headed in the direction of the toilet.

"Now my love," Daniel was saying. "You're gonna come with me now aren't ya?"

Lorana looked at him defiantly. "NO."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no Daniel, I'm not doing as you say anymore. I'm happy working for Bruce in Gotham," Lorana said strongly. The next thing she felt was the back of Daniel's hand coming into contact with her face.

"You stupid cow!" Daniel screamed in her face, "you do as I say so." Lorana recoiled from the slap her hands clutching her face. She looked up at Daniel and saw Bruce stealthily creeping up behind him. Bruce raised his hand up high and Lorana closed her eyes.

"It's ok, you can open your eyes now Lorana," came Bruce's soft reassuring voice. Lorana opened her eyes; Bruce was standing over her, a look of pure concern on his face. She took his extended hand and with his help go unsteadily to her feet.

"I suggest we get the last of your things and head home," Bruce said. Lorana nodded and walked slowly into her bedroom to get her suitcases. After a sweeping look around her bedroom she picked up the suitcases and walked back to Bruce who took them off her. She noticed that Bruce had been rather busy as he'd managed to find some string and had secured Daniel to one of the chairs.

"What are you going to do with him?" Lorana asked managing to find her voice and glancing and the unconscious form in the chair.

"I've already contacted Alfred and it's all being taken care of," Bruce said walking over to her and placing a protective arm around her. A small knock on the door broke the silence that had descended on Lorana and Bruce.

"Master Bruce?"

"Come on in Alfred," Bruce said meeting Alfred at Daniel's unconscious form. "You know what to do."

Alfred nodded and placed a black bag on the table whilst Bruce steered Lorana in the direction of the stairs that led out of the apartment.


	7. Not a chapter

**This isn't a story chapter.**

**What I would appreciate is people's reviews and comments on the story so far.**

**I want to know if you think it's good, I want to know where you want this story to go. I want to know if you dislike anything so that I can improve the story as a whole.**

**So please review loads.**

**Thanks :)**


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